


Darkened Gold

by SimplyScandalous



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, Evil, Family, Gold nightgown, Kings & Queens, Love, Multi, rowan whitethorn - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyScandalous/pseuds/SimplyScandalous
Summary: King Rowan has spent months searching for his mate and queen. When he finally finds her he's in for a nasty surprise. In the darkest days of their lives, will Rowan be able to save his wife or will the woman he loves become his worst nightmare?





	Darkened Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I'm desperatly awaiting the final book in the Throne Of Glass series and I know there are a lot of theories about what might happen but I just can't get this idea out of my head so I thought I'd write it out and see what everyone thinks, hope you enjoy.

Silence can be telling, there are so many messages sent out to the world in absolute quiet. The silence in this moment was louder than any shouted voice for the court of the Queen of Terrasen. Rowan edged further into the crumbling, grand ballroom where they had tracked his wife to, his senses tense and anxious as he sensed some dark power emitting from deep within the stone surrounding them; it slinked slowly and menacingly within the walls to curl around his own outstretched power. Testing. Whatever magic now circled them- it was testing his own and assessing.

Still, the new King of Terrasen did not falter, he had come this far to find Aelin and he would not stop now when he knew he was so close. Aedion and Dorian lurked further in behind him, Chaol and Manon went outwards to either side of the walls as they crept through the shadows ready to take on whatever may attack from the wrap of dimness. The evil they were to face however, did not come from the shadows; it appeared before them dressed in silk and cobweb. One moment they were alone and the next she stood before them; the bitch valg queen herself. Maeve.

“My, my Prince Rowan… or should I be saying king now? You’re a long way from your new kingdom.”  Her smile was taunting, one perfected over centuries meant to instil fear into even the truest and bravest hearts. A smile he had become immune to long, long ago. There was no fear in Rowan now, as he stood before the woman he had served for so long without question, only rage and a desire to see her ripped to pieces, the way he knew she had ordered her lacky Cairn to shred his mate’s back to pieces with that whip. There would be payback for that insult, perhaps when Aelin was free he’d sit back in unabashed delight as she tore the skin from the fae male’s back as he had done to her. There was no time for such fantasies now but later… later there would be no end to the pain he planned.

“Where. Is. My. Mate.” Rowan growled, barely more put together than a rabid animal. He sensed it as Chaol raised his sword from behind the curtain of the shadows that hid himself and Manon, felt the power surge within Dorian. All of them ready to attack. Maeve’s lips drew upwards and out into a true grin, delight sparkling in her otherwise back and soulless eyes.

“So, you finally know. I must admit Rowan, I was beginning to think you were the stupidest male I have ever known. Even your queen knew before you did, and she hasn’t even settled yet. That little trick I pulled with Lyria really messed up your good senses boy.” The bitch laughed outright now, so pleased with herself and the pain she had inflicted. Another insult to repay. Yes, Lyria had been a trick from the valg queen- a way to break him down to nothing and bend him to her will so that he would do whatever she wanted. A twist of fate. Rowan vowed, in that moment when he realised what Maeve had done to his wife, that her fate would be painful and inescapable. Still he did not speak, giving his friends a silent order to get ready for whatever battle was about to come their way. What Rowan did not realise was that the battle to come was not to be one you could fight with swords or arrows.

“Alright then, you came so far to find your beloved. I’d hate to refuse an old friend,” Maeve spoke softly as swept her right arm outwards, “Aelin my dear, why don’t you join us.” Then- as if she had been standing there the whole time- Aelin appeared.

Everyone now stood still, shocked to their core by what stood before them. Their queen dressed in a gown of sin and gold.

The skirt, which flowed all the way to the floor to curl lovingly around her ankles was almost sheer and all that hid her modesty was what Rowan could only assume was golden, silk undergarments. The top of the dress crossed at the sides of her hips to reveal most of her midriff and only followed upwards to cover half of her breasts and uncovering an abundant amount of cleavage. The gown only appeared to be held up by small slivers of fabric that tied together at each of Aelin’s forearms. After all the months they had spent searching for her, all the dreams he’d had about holding her in his arms even one last time. Rowan shook with the desire to take her in his arms to kiss her and show her all the love he felt. Until her saw her eyes.

Blacker than the darkest hour of the night, emptier than any he had ever seen before. Aelin did not stand before them now; her form perhaps but not _her._ Aelin had become possessed by a Valg.

“Is that the name I am to answer to then, your Majesty?” Rowan dragged in one shaky breath and those empty eyes turned to him. The others still stood as still as statues as they took in the Queen of Terrasen, her hair was so long after months and months of being uncut. Aedion was the first of them to move closer to his cousin, shaking hands reaching out at if to touch her.

“Aelin…”

“Not quite little prince. Although I admit her body is quite delightful. I think I could seduce the holiest of men in this skin and that power, oh that power. Every fibre of her burns with it.” The monster rooted in Aelin laughed, the sound hideous and so empty. Rowan wanted to rip the sound away along with her throat, but he couldn’t. Not whilst his mate remained trapped somewhere within her own body. 

Then, there was no sound. The monster wearing Aelin’s skin clutched at her throat and tried to drag in a breath, but none would come. Rowan turned with a menacing growl to find Dorian, his hand clenched into a fist before him, obviously using his raw power to choke the woman he loved. Then before he could lunge and put a stop to it Aelin let out a strangled laugh.

“You can’t kill me that way King of Adarlan, all you’re doing is… killing… her.” Her breaths were coming slower and fewer. A sigh. A shout of profanity. Then nothing. Dorian tucked his power back in to himself and the demon laughed louder than ever.

Rowan turned from his wife’s body and turned his gaze on the woman whom had taken her from him. Maeve still held that smile on her face as she took joy in the horror she had created.

Chaol and Manon stepped from the shadows and sheathed their weapons. Useless. They could not harm the demon without hurting Aelin and the beast knew it, relished in the knowledge that they were now useless. Her haunting gaze found Chaol then and she grinned an evil kind of grin that could never belong to the woman Rowan loved. Faster than any arrow; the demon vanished into nothing and reappeared behind Chaol, caressing his arm with a lover’s touch.

“You are as pretty as she remembers. The brave and noble, selfless Chaol. Tell me Captain, how do you like seeing her dressed up in all this loveliness? Do you still ache to touch her skin, or has your hate for her ruined any kind of lust you may have once felt?”

“That’s enough.” Dorian hissed. Again, Aelin moved, this time so that she was a whispered breath away from Dorian’s face. Dorian drew in a sharp breath at her closeness. Refused to stare into those empty eyes.

“What about you, your Majesty? You never got as far as the other two. Perhaps you’d like to have your chance now. To feel her lips on the most intimate part of your body, her body shaking beneath your powerful touch. We can even invite the witchling, if you like.” Aelin drawled in a sensual voice, a voice made to seduce and inspire lust.

“You touch him at all you demonic bitch and I’ll cut your tongue out of that pretty mouth of yours. Queen or not.” Manon snarled. The demon let out a long sigh and flicked her hair then shrugged her shoulders. The creature was toying with them, trying to cause discourse in their court and prevent them from figuring out whatever it was that she and Maeve didn’t want them to know. This was just another game to these demons, a way to distract them. Rowan was done with playing games.

There was something here, hidden amongst the stones that made this room. Rowan could feel its power still licking its way around their magic, assessing it. Assessing for what he didn’t know but he didn’t need to. What he did know was that this force was not in league with the darkness that swam around his beloved and the queen. Whatever it was- it could buy them time to escape with Aelin and maybe save her from her internal cage. He would do it and pray that he was right.

“Enough of this, Aelin wouldn’t let you do any of that and you know it.” Rowan didn’t know if that was true or if his wife did have any control, but he needed to believe that she did. He must have been correct though because the demon turned her narrowed eyes on him and gave him a menacing look.

“Unfortunately, that is true. I’ve possessed dozens of humans and fae and yet your queen refuses to let go.” Then she turned that cunning smile on him, the only real sign of Aelin that he had seen in the moments since she had appeared.

“You know, she’s managed to hide a lot of secrets from me so far, including anything about what your court have planned for Morath. The one thing that she keeps repeating like a gods damned mantra is your name,” She began to laugh maniacally, “She begged for you in the beginning. Begged for you to know how much she loves you, begged for you to save her, begged that she would die before you saw this. Now its more like a sad little whimper because she knows what I already knew the whole time. You can’t save her. You couldn’t save your first love and you can’t save this one.” Rowan drew in a sharp breath. This was just another tactic; a way to get him to lose his cool and attack without a plan or precision. He couldn’t give in or he really wouldn’t be able to save his mate.

“That isn’t true. There are no boundaries to what I would or could do to save this woman and I know that wherever she is in there, she knows that I will love her forever and I will always, always be there for her. To whatever end.” The last part wasn’t for the demon in Aelin’s head, it was for Aelin. A whispered promise; the vow that he made to her on their first night together and their last. The Valg reared its head back and in its eyes, there was a flicker of gold. It only lasted a moment, but he had seen it and knew Aelin had heard him.

The foreign power that had been tracing its way through the room grew bolder. Brighter. The others sensed it too if the way they had begun to shift around was an indication. Time, he just needed a little more time. Grasping at the last straw Rowan could come up with, he grasped the back of Aelin’s neck and pulled her close enough to crush her lips beneath his own. The creature fought hard against him; raking its nails down his cheeks and neck to draw blood but it only made him hold on tighter. Pressing himself firmly against her body Rowan used all his strength to overpower her. Behind him Maeve laughed, no doubt thinking his efforts would be futile. Then the laughter stopped; and Rowan felt Aelin’s body go slack against his own. Drawing back, Rowan looked into those eyes again. There she was.

“Fireheart.”

“Buzzard!” That was Aelin’s voice, his Aelin. Suddenly he was shoved away by raging flames. Gone again, but she had broken through and hope surged anew in his blood.

“Go home to your pathetic court, King of Terrasen. Soon you’ll be king of nothing.” The valg snarled and threw her palm out to encase him in more flames. Before she could however, a light brighter than anything any of them had ever seen flashed. The creature went to shield her eyes and was thrown back by a strong flow of icy wind manipulated by Dorian. The blast was enough to knock both Maeve and Aelin against the stone walls, making them both unconscious. Rubble began to fall all around them, Chaol shouted the order for them to retreat but Rowan couldn’t. Not before he ran for his queen. Without even having to break into his immortal strength, Rowan picked Aelin up and carried her towards the exit where the others waited for him.

Nodding to Dorian in silent thanks, they took off down the woodland path towards the beach where they had left the Wyverns earlier in the day before they had travelled up into the horrible place. The place they had at last found his mate. Having reached the beach, they all stopped to take a breath and Rowan didn’t care that the others saw as he dropped to his knees, held Aelin close and sobbed into her neck. Moments passed. No one said a word. They knew he needed this moment with her, even if they hadn’t saved her completely yet, they had her back. Finally, Rowan pulled back and took a breath.

“So, my King, now that we have our queen back. What’s next?” Aedion asked. Rowan looked up to see them all staring at him expectantly, no judgement in their eyes. A court looking to their king.

“Now, we take my wife home to our kingdom.”


End file.
